tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46169857790433421862024-03-18T20:57:27.456-07:00Fighting Topical Steroid Withdraw (TSW)This is a documentation of my journey through TSW (Topical Steroid Withdraw). I stopped all steroids Dec 2013.Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-33263776641431863972019-09-01T08:59:00.002-07:002019-09-01T09:05:16.099-07:001 Week Post Stem Cell Treatment at BioXcellerator ColombiaAlright, so I have completed my treatment on 150 million MSC stem cells at the BioXcellerator stem cell clinic here in Medellin, Colombia. Hoping to start seeing some progress here fingers crossed. I have stated to notice some effect, which I mention in the video. Each day I seem to be improving a little bit. I created this video to share my experience with the clinic and to start documenting the progress I see. Sorry the video is so long (27 min)... but there was a lot to cover during the 1 week stay. I will be actually living here in Colombia for 3 months, this is my 4th time living here in Medellin, so it's kinda like my second home. I will be posting another update next week.<br />
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Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-71294062639777908032019-08-12T18:26:00.002-07:002019-08-14T21:45:53.777-07:00Mesenchymal Stem Cell Video Update #1 - 1 week before treatment!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A week before getting Stem Cells! As you can see I am not doing the best with pretty red skin and flaking! But in the video you can learn a little bit about my research into stem cells and what I am kinda expecting at BioXcellerator in Medellin Colombia! Keep me in your thoughts a prayers :)Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-71236987922169629742019-07-09T22:24:00.001-07:002019-08-14T21:44:59.696-07:00On my way to get stem cells!So big news, I am going to try out stem cell therapy! In short, I have created a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/joey039s-stem-cell-journey-for-eczema">Go-Fund-Me</a> account to help cover costs. It's going to be an expensive treatment, like over $20,000 and will be doing it through the company <a href="https://www.bioxcellerator.com/">BioXcellerator</a>. They are based in Arizona but have their clinic in Medellin Colombia and I will be receiving the treatment August 18 through the 25th.<br />
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There are a number of reasons why I think umbilical cord stem cells could help my condition, but this is one of the main clinical studies to reference for stem cells and atopic dermatitis if you wish to read the results: <a href="https://stemcellsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/stem.2401">https://stemcellsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/stem.2401</a><br />
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I will be explain more about my research into stem cells and why it is going to be such an interesting journey! I am looking extremely forward to the procedure and will be documenting my trip as i go here on the blog!<br />
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Stay tuned :)Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-9844876652899850942019-02-04T17:27:00.000-08:002019-08-12T18:18:15.337-07:00BIG MISTAKE - Never go back to steroids! Hey all,<br />
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Thought I would do a quick update here. So if you read my the last blog post I did a year ago, you can see that I caved in and went back to the steroids! Basically I was really struggling and wanted some relief. And I wanted to see what happened if I tried only really low doses of prednisone.. But boy, was that a huge mistake...!<br />
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Don't do it, do let the doctors talk you into going back to the steroids. I was on low doses of prednisone for about 6 months, plus using hydrocortisone here and there and it f'ed me up big time... I stopped the low dose steroids around July 2017 because I just kept getting worse and worse. Way worse then when I was 3 years into my first withdraw. So I knew steroids is not the answer and <b>never will be the answer...</b><br />
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So I stopped the steroids (again!) July 2017. I knew I needed to go through withdraw again, so I moved to a tropical environment in Medellin, Colombia for 5 months because I know I do better where there is sun and humidity. And boy, did I go through total withdraw again. The oozing started again, then bright red skin, the intense flaking, the pain! Oh man fuck steroids...<br />
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Again it took months before my skin started showing signs of healing again. Around December things stated to improve for me again and I moved back to my parents house in Seattle. This is 6 months after stopping the low dose steroids. I then decided to take a trip to Miami Florida where there is plenty of sun and salt water. I wanted to try swimming in the ocean because I have been doing epsom salts baths at home and it seemed to help quite a bit. You have to make sure they are pure epsom salts and not mixed with any fragrance or anything. Also rinsing off with cold water helps a bunch too.<br />
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And boy, the salt water and sun here in Miami is freaking amazing! It has practically cleared me. My skin is no longer bright red and I feel the best I have in 5 years. It took about 5 swims and laying in the sun for an hour or two. The first swim freaking burns like hell... but after that it's bearable the next times.<br />
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I was looking at myself in the mirror the other day and couldn't believe this was my body. Not a scratch, with regular tone skin and no flaking. And even started crying and thanking god for this temporary relief. I could literally feel the salt water burning the eczema out, and my lymph nodes getting smaller and less swollen. My energy returned, I felt alive again! So I think I need to live on the ocean here in the tropics somewhere. As the salt water/ ocean is a miracle worker.<br />
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I will try to post pictures here soon.<br />
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Good luck all, and swim in the Ocean!Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-33168252612214264972018-01-25T18:16:00.002-08:002019-02-04T18:10:50.215-08:00Steroid Corticosteroid Potency Explanation!Disclaimer - I am not a doctor... just a guy who has done some online research and telling you my story.<br />
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I want to update you guys with where I am at now. TSW has been hell, my last 3 years using no steroids was the hardest time of my life. But I do not regret the suffering one bit. I learned a lot from it and came more in touch with my body then ever before. The Summer of 2017 was actually not that bad, as long as I was getting sunlight. But once Winter hit around November I was in bad shape again. As mentioned in my last post. And as a result I encountered the devil (steroids) again! But after doing some research I decided micro dosing on the devil might be an option. Let me explain.<br />
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I decided to do some research on exactly how much steroids I was on, compared to how much your body should naturally produce. What I ended up finding is that a normal health body should produce 40 mg a day or more of hydrocortisone. Note hydrocortisone is different then pednisone. Prednisone is 4 time stronger then hydrocrotisone and there are many other more potent versions of the steroid/ hormone as you can see on this corticosteroid calculator <a href="http://clincalc.com/corticosteroids/">http://clincalc.com/corticosteroids/</a>.<br />
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According to this article some people produce up to 200mg a day hydrocortisone. Now remember, hydrocortisone is the same hormone as the stress reducing cortisol hormone our bodies naturally produces to fight inflammation, but hydrocortisone is the synthetically man made version used for medication . And it is said, taking over 40mg of a day of hydrocortisone can result in damage to the adrenal glands. As stated in this quote from this site: <a href="https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/adrenal-info/faq">https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/adrenal-info/faq</a><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"How much cortisol does the body normally produce? </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In doctor Peatfield’s book, he says “The natural output of hydrocortisone is actually variable and may be as much as 200 mg. daily under stress and 40 – 60 mg. in a normal resting state. Obviously then, a dose significantly greater than 40 mg. daily will tend to take over the adrenal production of cortisone, and the adrenals could shut down completely. It must be said at once, so long as this suppression doesn’t last too long, the adrenals will pick themselves up again, and restart producing the necessary cortisone for themselves as before.” Thyroid patients who need ACE or HC doesn’t normally get that high, though."</span></b><br />
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Ok. This is important! Going over 40mg a day can result in damage to the adrenals. And in theory, you should not take more then 10mg hydrocortisone a day to be safe.<br />
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So lets set the daily limit to 10mg hydrocortisone a day just to be on the super safe side...<br />
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So how much each steroid should last you if you stayed on the super safe side of 10mg of hydrocortisone a day? Lets do the math!<br />
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Here is a corticosteroid calculator that is really helpful and everyone should know about! <a href="http://clincalc.com/corticosteroids/">http://clincalc.com/corticosteroids/</a><br />
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<ul>
<li>1 20 mg pill of prednisone</li>
<ul>
<li>1 mg prednisone = 4mg hydrocortisone</li>
<li>So 20mg prednisone = 80 mg of hydrocortisone. </li>
<li>80mg / 10mg daily safety limit = 8</li>
<li>One 20mg pill should last you 8 days if you follow the safety limit.</li>
<li>Note the doctor prescribed me 60mg per day of prednisone! Which is ludicrous because that 60mg is like 1 month of steroids if you follow my safety limit...</li>
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<li>1% hydrocortisone cream - 1 tube 28 grams/ 1oz </li>
<ul>
<li>1% hydrocortisone cream means 10mg hydrocortisone per gram of cream.</li>
<li>It has a 12hr half life. = .5 day half life.</li>
<li>So one tube has 280 mg of hydrocortisone.</li>
<li>280 / 10 mg / day = 28 days * .5 day half life = 14 days. </li>
<li>1 Tube should last you 14 days if you follow the safety limit</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>.1% triamcinalone - 1 tube 28 grams/ 1oz</li>
<ul>
<li>.1% means it contains 1mg hydrocortisone per gram of cream</li>
<li>Triamcinalone has a 24 hour half life = 1 day half life</li>
<li>1mg triamcinalone = 5mg of hydrocortisone</li>
<li>1 tube 28 grams/ 1oz of .1% triamcinalone cream = 28 mg triamcinalone * 5 = 140 mg of hydrocortisone</li>
<li>140 / 10mg / day = 14</li>
<li>1 tube should last you 14 days</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>.1% triamcinalone - 1 Jar 454 grams</li>
<ul>
<li>.1% means it contains 1mg hydrocortisone per gram of cream</li>
<li>Triamcinalone has a 24 hour half life = 1 day half life</li>
<li>1mg triamcinalone = 5mg of hydrocortisone</li>
<li>1 jar contains 454 mg triamcinalone</li>
<li>454 mg triamcinalone * 5 = 2270 mg hydrocortisone / 10mg/ day = 228 days</li>
<li> 1 jar should last you 7 months and 16 days</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>betamethasone .1% (super potent!) - 1 small tube 15 grams </li>
<ul>
<li>1mg betamethasone = 25mg hydrocortisone</li>
<li>betamethasone has a 4 day half life</li>
<li>1 small tube contains 15mg betamethasone</li>
<li>15mg betamethasone * 25mg hydrocortisone = 375 mg of hydrocortisone in a tube.</li>
<li>375mg / 10mg / day = 37.5 * 4 day half life = 150 days</li>
<li>1 small tube of betamethasone should last you 5 months...</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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Now, my hypothesis is this. Cortisol is a natural hormone. And I have come to the realization that my body might be damaged. My adrenal glads simply do not produce enough cortisol resulting in inflammation and damage to the body. So for the winter months I have been taking 2.5mg a day of prednisone to keep me from going crazy. This is the "safe" threshold of what I described up above. And this has helped tremendously, and the side effects have been minimal so far. My daily life has returned to normal. I know I might be damaging my adrenals even more and this has me a little scared... But really 2.5mg is very little. So for now it's a decision I chose to go. Eventually when the Sun returns, I want to try and cut the devil off totally again. But micro dosing has ended my winter depression and I am doing really well. I will not let myself go over 2.5mg a day and if anything I want to switch to 2.5mg every other day starting in the spring, then stopping in the summer.<br />
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Thanks for reading,<br />
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Happy Healing to you all!Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-54850478948549044952017-11-01T14:56:00.000-07:002019-02-04T18:13:14.656-08:00Trying low dose steroids while in the cityI thought I should add a update to the blog here since it has been a while, and came across some people that actually read it in real life! So let me give you guys a quick synopsis of the last 2 years of topical steroid withdraw I have endured.<br />
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For the most part, I have been doing pretty good. Basically, for the last 2 years I have been off of all steroids and chasing the sun ;) Once it starts getting cold here in Seattle, Wa in the fall, my eczema starts getting worse. So this year (2017) and last year (2016) I moved to South America to go back to the sun for the winter. Sun and clean fresh air is what seems to keep my skin clear. As long as I have that I am fine. Also entering a new environment in Colombia helped my allergies immensely as well. The food and air is much cleaner and healthier down there, plus the humidity keeps my skin moist and not dry.<br />
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I was actually living in South America for the good part of 6 months (from December 2016 to July 2017). I found a nice place in Medellin Colombia that I only had to pay $500 rent for and was on the 10th floor of a nice apartment building. While in Colombia, my skin was completely clear, no issues what so ever. I actually felt like a completely different person! And when I returned, my family said I seem completely different too. I looked way better and was way more relaxed.<br />
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But then I had to return to Seattle... Partly because of the Visa restrictions and my work. I run an indie computer game company called 5D Realities. Most the time I can take my computer abroad and do programming but now that the company is growing rapidly I needed to return back to the states to manage things. So I returned in July 2017, got an office in Seattle and for the most part things were fine during the Summer. I noticed I did flare more here in Seattle... but as long as I got summer sunlight and got fresh air out in the mountains on the weekends, I was fine. But now that fall is here and I am under a lot of stress from work I started to break out pretty bad...<br />
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On top of that in early October I got a really bad cold. And my skin was flaring and my asthma was horrible. Then the cold moved to my chest and there was a day where I literally could not breath... I even took multiple sessions of the nebulizer for asthma and still couldn't breath. So I went to an emergency walk in clinic. The doctor basically said, you need to take some sort of cortisone/ steroid or your going to pass out and maybe die... So she gave me 5 days of 60mg prednisone.<br />
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Talk about a dilemma I was in. The doctor basically wanted to put be on the Devil again! This was a huge decision I had to make. Go back to the steroids or try and wait out the cold.... So I came to a compromise, instead of doing the whole 60 mg dose a day, I took one 20mg pill and split in half and tried that. So 10mg. Of coarse the steroid helped like magic and I felt way better... I stayed on 10mg a day for like a week. Then I switched to 5mg a day for another week, and now I am taking 5mg every other day. My cold is completely gone and my athema and skin has stayed clear for the most part.<br />
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I just had an appointment with a dermatologist and asked her, what if I was to stay on 5mg every other day of prednisone? Is this going to be unhealthy? And have long term side effects? Her response was basically she was surprised this was helping at all because that is a small dose. She said an average body naturally produces 10mg to 15mg or natural cortisone a day. And she said perhaps my body is lower and that 5mg might be helping give a small boost to my natural amount. I also found some reports on the long term use of really low doses of prednisone. Basically the conclusion is, the side effects are minimal as found here: <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11642646">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11642646</a><br />
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So after weighing the ups and downs I am thinking I might stay on this low dose prednisone. At least while here in the city during the winter. I have to say it does feel strange having the hormone in my system. Even at this low doses. Life almost seem too easy, or trivial. And kind of has this wierd sensation like I am in movie or something? Hard to explain.<br />
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But this is basically a quick update I where I am at. My basic conclusion is I think my body produces small amounts of natural cortisone. Probably because I was on so much synthetic steroids as a kid that my body just never learned to produce it... So supplementing with small amounts of predinsone seems to help and keep my skin and asthma in check here in the city, during high stress periods, and during the winter.<br />
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Will keep you guys updated here but that is where I am at.<br />
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<br />Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-76825454926692576132016-03-17T14:25:00.003-07:002023-09-30T09:33:30.792-07:00Keep going! Its totally worth the freedom!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIIB9R_02WUsVtb2uu4jLb_2HOkU9jjHwDMQEbvs1_kPuc8IHWS-feV_SCbh0mKOWYV-PtT5Wd0RB7VvniiC4nqMNxxp0n_5uMYbfch_ZkaWuAboNSYwCX69CAeGm3DWArRi8sUgykvEe/s1600/Skin_2016.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIIB9R_02WUsVtb2uu4jLb_2HOkU9jjHwDMQEbvs1_kPuc8IHWS-feV_SCbh0mKOWYV-PtT5Wd0RB7VvniiC4nqMNxxp0n_5uMYbfch_ZkaWuAboNSYwCX69CAeGm3DWArRi8sUgykvEe/w394-h239/Skin_2016.jpg" width="394" /></a></div>
Topical Steroid Withdraw has been the worst thing and the best thing I have ever done in my life. If you haven't heard of TSW go to itsan.org. They well tell you all about it. Now 2 Years, 4 Months. Practically back to normal. No meds, no lotion, no diet change, no nothing... nothing but freedom. I still experience minor patches of eczema that flair in the same spots. Like my arm, and behind my legs, and my face. But this is nothing compared to a couple years ago after stoping the steroids. I don't experience red burning skin or oozing anymore. Just minor "regular" ezcema that seems to flare when entering dusty places, or eating a ton of suger, alcohol or junk food.<div><br /></div><div>Best advise I have is don't stress out over what you think is causing it, because that will only make it worse in the long run. My therory is you just have to wait patiently for your immune system to naturally slowly burn the ezcema and inflamation out. So you will go through good periods, and then flare hard again, only to repeat the process over and over, but each time getting less intense. It's best to get away from your old ways of living because your immune system is used to functioning in a life where you had artificial cortisone, so any place or situation that reminds you of needing the cortisone in your subconscious will trigger your skin to flare. You are a new person off the cream and you must train your brain to reverse negative thinking and old ways of living. I still go through rounds of anxiety where I can tell my body is craving the steroids and I start to flare. But when this happens Marijuana once in a while along with silent meditation can help overcome this. Also explains why all the people who are healed disappear, because once you are healed you want nothing to do with anything that reminds you of TSW. Also, in the later stages of healing, don't take anything that messes with your immune system because this just confuses your natural inmune system and will tak longer to heal. This including basic Advil or Anti Histamines. I found they do help short term but I rebound hard from them, and can send me into a vicious loop if I keep popping them. All meds in my opinion will only make you worse if you depend on them too much and disrupt your own natural energy flow. Once in a while yes, like in the early stages, but try to stay clear of drugs later on in the withdraw. Like I say, I found Marijuana to be the most helpful tool, because it calms the anxiety and does't mess with your immune system like most other drugs do. Anyways, best of luck for anyone tring to stop steroids, its a brutal process but you will learn more about yourself and your body and eventually get your life back! </div>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-49748979890178403912014-12-04T15:42:00.001-08:002017-03-22T13:52:24.747-07:00Rebuilding my core<div class="MsoNormal">
I have gone through a large spiritual journey in this past
year and I want people to understand it. For I think it can help other people
get better.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is the main point I want to get across. Our spirit is
what holds our body together. I believe spirit/ soul is the energy we were born with and is what drives life,
without it we would be dead and would fall apart. Have you ever felt hurt emotionally? Like a break up,
or people saying bad things about you? Well if you believe the lies, and are not grounded in your true self, your spirit will be damaged. And a damaged spirit is the cause of all illness and depression. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br></div><div class="MsoNormal">Now, here is the sad
part. Our spirit has been extremely damaged unknowingly by these immunosuppressants/
steroids. Our symptoms have been covered up and masked by a false medical power.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Imagine our spirit as
an apple seed. It has a set of instructions, almost supernatural instructions
for it to grow into a tree. The plant starts growing naturally
at a young age, then a doctor comes along and says, hum this tree has some issues and should be growing stronger. So they give it a support beam to help it grow. The support
beam helps for a little while until the tree starts wilting again under its own
weight again. Doctor says, we need another support beam. This keeps continuing until the
apple tree reaches full maturity. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are the apple tree that has been given too many unnatural
support beams (steroids) and can no longer stand on our own. We are no doubt going to fall and break when we take the beams
off. And sadly the creams and doctors are not going to be there to help us. Their interests lie elsewhere. Short term fixes and the need for money has blinded them. But the cool part about nature is we may break at the core/ trunk, but
over time we can grow back to the image that God has created us to be. Although for this to occur it takes forgiveness. We have been damaged badly, we are angry and we want to hold someone responsible. Sadly we beat ourselves up over this. You can learn to let go though. It takes faith not in someone else, not in another drug, but someone who has been there the whole time. You, and the power of your heart. Don't let the past hold you down, for it is over and done with. Let go and rebuild your natural core again.</div>
<br>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For myself, I still have a lot of growing to do, for I have been broken
at the trunk and stripped of everything I had and the fruit I used to bear. But my spirit is growing stronger everyday, and cannot be shaken or disrupted by others or physical obstacles. I am growing into a more beautiful tree in the image God has created me to be. One that I feel will produce some of
the best fruit on this planet given time to heal.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tomorrow marks my 1 year. I will be putting a bunch of images together to show the amazing progress I have made :)<br>
<br>
I also want to note, the Bible is a powerful book if you read it with the correct context in mind. I am not really religious but while I was down in the gutter I just gave it a read. You almost have to go through suffering for it to really speak to you. Jesus was an amazing teacher and understood people in the image of God perfectly. His messages helped.</div>
Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-90462414586279275802014-10-22T14:31:00.001-07:002019-02-04T18:14:40.340-08:00Coming back from hell :) yeah <div class="MsoNormal">
Almost 11 months in and hitting a major healing period, to
where there is almost no red skin! And I haven’t used any moisturizer or cream
what so ever on my skin for the last 2 months. It is still a little dry and red in places but nothing
compared to 2 months in. I still think I might get another flare, but I am
hoping for the best!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Things that seem to have helped in order:<br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">1. Time.</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">2. Stopping all work and stress related activities to take time and let the body heal.</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">3. Time</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">4. Realization that my spirit has been badly damaged and there is a greater God that can guide you through this.</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">5. Time</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">6. Marijuana - especially heavy doses of editable once a week (100mg THC). Gives a knew perception on the damage done and how to heal. </span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">7.Time</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -24px;">8.No other Drugs - The last couple months I have not use any drug or cream or pill whatsoever. I believed this helped greatly, even though at times I suffered greatly. I would use only Marijuana to calm me down.</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">9. Acupuncture: I have been smoking Marijuana and going to get acupuncture every other day. For some reason this seems to be really helpful. It feels like the inflammation just drains from the body after a 1hr acupuncture session. And my sleep has returned greatly which is the biggest help of all.</span></div>
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">10. Support and great understanding from loves one. The trip through hell is not easy to say the least…</span>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-19082534638034828712014-09-14T10:22:00.001-07:002014-09-14T10:22:48.653-07:00Quick updateThings have been pretty consistant for the past 3 to 4 months. I still constantly flare and shed every 3 days. The trouble spots are the spots that constantly flare. They are my stomach, back, between my knees and arms. Although the inflamation is definitly reducing, its still there In the same location but less red as the months progress. Some people cant even notice the redness in my skin lately, which is great. Its been a bit painful because the nerves are returning. But the marijuna does a great job reducing that pain! Which is a godsent. I will take a puff and I am so much more relaxed. Anyways, I have a million pictures of my progress but I want to wait till I am near healed to post them. I think I will be fully healed in 1 year and 6 months. I am 10 months in now ;) More the half way :)Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-13786787463976980732014-05-09T00:25:00.001-07:002019-02-04T18:15:34.281-08:00Medical Marijuana<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This is a sketchy topic to discuss but I feel the need
to share my experience so far. Please don’t view me as a "pot head"
because I am far from it. I personally think there is something
amazing about marijuana. I believe it truly is a miracle plant. And here is
why. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">First of all, do a YouTube search, "Marijuana
cures" and you will be bombarded with people stories
of how cannabis has cured all sorts of diseases, especially cancer. It’s a
tragedy that or government is making research so hard because it is illegal. I
think the drug companies in power are stopping research from being done because
the legalization of marijuana would cripple their business. For
sure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Anyways, let’s talk about my experience. I was
introduced to cannabis when my younger brother offered me a pot cookie he got
from his friend. With my knowlege of canabis now, there was probably around 50 to 100 mg of THC in that cookie. A normal dose is 10mg. This was 4 months ago and I would try anything to relive the
pain. So I ate it. Not much happened in the first 30 min - so with the limited knowledge
about editable I decided to eat more... and 15 min later I was stoned! I mean really
stoned. I was not expecting the body high that I got. I couldn't talk or
even think clearly. And to be honest I was freaking out. I was Paranoid! And
now looking back I know exactly why I felt Paranoid. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Here is what I thing marijuana does. When ingesting
marijuana your body processes it way different then smoking it. It converts the
THC to other compounds that induce a stronger high, and the high can be 4 times
stronger the smoking it. But it is this high where the healing can begin. Let me
explain...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Besides taking pain away (which it does greatly), I
think marijuana is literally a time machine for your mind. Yeah now I sound
crazy haha. For me personally (each person is different) when I eat a
pot cookie alone (alone is different than with people around, trust me) I
start analyzing my life. I go back and look at my childhood experiences and
memories and see how they made me the person I am today. It’s like the marijuana slows down your brain frequency and like
tuning into a different channel, you tune into a different perspectives on your life.
You can make connections you wouldn’t normally notice. Things like houses, people, places all have a history and feeling associated with them. When I had the cookie at my parents house I could literally hear voices from the past and memories would flash before my eyes. At certain times I wanted to cry. Not
until you eat the marijuana you can start picking up those frequencies. For me,
the first couple times eating the cookies I felt anxious and afraid. This is because my subconcious was opening up and exposing so much information to me that I didn’t know
how to handle it. My brain and emotions were overloaded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It is meditation on these profound thoughts and truths
that enable the healing. You can clearly see where and why the sickness is occurring. Where you went wrong. I can tell that my body will take a long time to recover but I can also see the path. I
can see how bad I screwed by body up :( I wrote the other day while high this:
"The creams made my skin look healthy but my truth was burried. The sickness and longing my spirit would weep through the skin. When I was two months in and looked
like hell. That what my spirit looked like underneath my skin-- puke, that is
so disgusting, why i would do that too myself."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It is a clear understanding like this that you begin
to fully understand. You begin to understand who you are and how we are so
tightly<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>intertwined with
nature and the energies around us. The artificial creams blocked that
perspective and made me sick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I feel the inflamed skin cells moving up and out of my
body now. It is a very very slow process. But I see it and understand it now.
Give me another year and I will be a totally renewed person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Let me note I sometimes smoke it now but it gives me bad asthma sometimes, so I will continue to eat
it. Smoking it is way lighter on a high. Every person experienced eating marijuana/ editable different. And if the edible has butter in it, the high will be stronger because of the way it fuses with the fat proteins. But for
me it seems to be helping. What I have been doing is like have 2 days out of
the week to "medicate” myself, then take a couple days to analyze my
experience and how my body is changing. </span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Marijana also exposed to me how f'd up our society is. Living in corporate America you can see how businesses and cooperations choose profits over the well being of others. Not all businesses are bad but there is a lot of greed going around these days. It will be this greed that tests America to its limit, and if the people are not carfull and fight for their freedoms it could overtake the world. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Anyways, leave any
comments or questions below!</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Also watch this video
(ignore the first min or so where they talk about the bodies haha), there is a
place in this video where Joe Rogan perfectly describes the power of editable!
</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://youtu.be/TuH5We_WEQo">http://youtu.be/TuH5We_WEQo</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-9647827784656428552014-04-14T13:03:00.001-07:002014-04-14T21:49:47.566-07:00Amost 5 months!!So I havent updated my blog in a while mostly because I just wanted to unplug myself and really focus on healing. And healing is what I have done :) I would say I am a little more the 50% through this and the worst has passed!! I am starting to see large improvments even though I still flare a little every other day. I can tell about 50% of my body still has the inflamation in the cells. But that is much better then 95% of my cells being enflammed. And more then 75% of the day the cells show no inflamation, not untill I disturb my skin with a shower or excercise is when I see it. <div><br></div><div>I want to re-enforce that getting here was a nightmare that I had to settle with. I lost a lot and my life took a 180 down hill. I lost my job, I lost friends, I<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> lost my girlfriend, I lost money and probably my ego too haha. But what I have gained??!!! Alot! Extreme enlightment is what I have gained. I feel I am closer to my family. I have got to spend a lot of time with my mom, and dad which I am greatful for! I have gained gratitude toward those willing to help me :) I feel loved, and see how important this is in life. Before I felt I was blind, living a fake and somewhat materialistic life that the cortisones provided. I was not facing reality. Now I know why I had to go through this journy. Who knows what I would have become without this experience. </span></div><div><br></div><div>I still have a long way to go. I feel the 1 year mark I will be near completly healed. But I am healing fast now! I have been able to play soccer and tennis! I have been going to the gym! I am regaing strength and getting intouch with who I really am and the real person under all the false medications I had lived under. </div><div><br></div><div>I have been taking photos of myself. I will post them all when I am healed... But here is a before and after. </div><div><br></div><div>Before (2 month in): </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHh8PzJ9kX6-WTiKSVzt-ISsccZVX3WVv3TNZMHD6AlZx1cJ_bxtWVEeKg4rI3fG0hN6PGxFHACnOys2HaXvy6qL9WheJ3CBNXo-NNsoXg2gtvlHunM7KIs91oCaTUkKj-6SFvcp8ChPxJ/s640/blogger-image-1506735021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHh8PzJ9kX6-WTiKSVzt-ISsccZVX3WVv3TNZMHD6AlZx1cJ_bxtWVEeKg4rI3fG0hN6PGxFHACnOys2HaXvy6qL9WheJ3CBNXo-NNsoXg2gtvlHunM7KIs91oCaTUkKj-6SFvcp8ChPxJ/s640/blogger-image-1506735021.jpg"></a></div>After: (4 and 1/2 months in) <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyQamjTb_95u6Fx_hkwVPl5OJGSh83nlhU8UmRkYvo2Wl68tuQmHwTjg7eXynIkpb73jqGdNn13IcqqcXc5Lh38jNZhjlouBGfPvnHeVABWZxjqCUSiN5O3_nSgTCLSw5I_Qm7nueTuZLf/s640/blogger-image--1326148586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyQamjTb_95u6Fx_hkwVPl5OJGSh83nlhU8UmRkYvo2Wl68tuQmHwTjg7eXynIkpb73jqGdNn13IcqqcXc5Lh38jNZhjlouBGfPvnHeVABWZxjqCUSiN5O3_nSgTCLSw5I_Qm7nueTuZLf/s640/blogger-image--1326148586.jpg"></a></div><br></div></div>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-45411224998158099252014-02-03T19:22:00.001-08:002014-02-03T19:22:23.242-08:00End of Month 2 into Month 3So I have been going through this day by day and glad to say I am almost at the 60 day mark. 60 days is a long time but to me it feels like an eternity. I am not going to lie, this has not been easy. My condition has kept me indoors which really starts to put a toll on the psyche. I really miss being able to go out and drink and just have a good time with friends. I wish I could go to work and have the energy I used to have. I wish I could snowboard and play soccer. I wish I didn't look like shit! But yet I remain optomistic. I know my life will have to change during this experience, wether I like it ir not, and I am just going to have to get used to that! <div><br></div><div>Now to be optomistic I have noticed good improvments :) My legs are no longer swollen, My skin is sweating and shedding way less. I seem to shed every 3 days now instead of twice a day. My skin will turn red, dry and tight then the next day will start to fall off and peel. Each time the skin seems to be a little better. Although at the moment I am in a pretty bad flare :( But after the shedding I am sure I will get a little break again. </div><div><br></div><div>I am trying to meditate and pray a lot. To keep my spirit strong and optomistic. This involves relaxing and trying to free my brain of negative thoughts and contant business. I replace it with a glowing light that penitrates and relaxes my body and mind. If I am lucky I will get an hour or two of scratchless sleep. Which is huge! </div><div><br></div><div>So how about some pics? </div><div>47 days in:</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURFLdeVI6OeLZh0mnXbGNpyYU0XfcEwcC25NGKGcrMzvI0DhsjBVcvO3-PgbxSTXXIg1hNlcKaFelWKlozhqVHClW3R_v2wwNk2YbyXe8PK_Eegd6qe2VZxKskqeaOiFbVFLOol-r0Z56/s640/blogger-image-1685816525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURFLdeVI6OeLZh0mnXbGNpyYU0XfcEwcC25NGKGcrMzvI0DhsjBVcvO3-PgbxSTXXIg1hNlcKaFelWKlozhqVHClW3R_v2wwNk2YbyXe8PK_Eegd6qe2VZxKskqeaOiFbVFLOol-r0Z56/s640/blogger-image-1685816525.jpg"></a></div><div><br></div>58 days in: </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAh73QsoSgSqrUNTrNJbLLtNTetjHjbwVQmGWDWydX-Y0KiwouVoJCmaI2eMQXrI4K783sU1LEjdk8DvFIGqXsA8SF5q17MwDLFcaQXF8I_uda4MFnY0hQ-ohDtCBy_VLh1RU-oRt8Rxei/s640/blogger-image--1222908281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAh73QsoSgSqrUNTrNJbLLtNTetjHjbwVQmGWDWydX-Y0KiwouVoJCmaI2eMQXrI4K783sU1LEjdk8DvFIGqXsA8SF5q17MwDLFcaQXF8I_uda4MFnY0hQ-ohDtCBy_VLh1RU-oRt8Rxei/s640/blogger-image--1222908281.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">47 days in: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQvOpLpB3sRU2QicfNCynM7i2pcncA2xOlrKylKMtzS-D_VU7xbCrg362_S6RJrXWkiqDSDHFbGfbpq9g0YkxPjJaJ7fMXN1NX1FbsCGKN-6chDIOJ4l8UhWZ0LSBLYpJsH1wzShaxh-h/s640/blogger-image-1970918913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQvOpLpB3sRU2QicfNCynM7i2pcncA2xOlrKylKMtzS-D_VU7xbCrg362_S6RJrXWkiqDSDHFbGfbpq9g0YkxPjJaJ7fMXN1NX1FbsCGKN-6chDIOJ4l8UhWZ0LSBLYpJsH1wzShaxh-h/s640/blogger-image-1970918913.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">58 days in: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZbXxCCwK2YPcoJRPZtvySzUqm1mZkju-WRy-px59r9JIchfiJ7QA-Blf6CfrZ1g4lQyfMnVB_TV9-pJL1tdrbZFkRwaLWm5qwvN7YJqt43i0IwHtqp47BHCWGZgOPBb-ca6Rs7Yzw-m3/s640/blogger-image-1442446705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZbXxCCwK2YPcoJRPZtvySzUqm1mZkju-WRy-px59r9JIchfiJ7QA-Blf6CfrZ1g4lQyfMnVB_TV9-pJL1tdrbZFkRwaLWm5qwvN7YJqt43i0IwHtqp47BHCWGZgOPBb-ca6Rs7Yzw-m3/s640/blogger-image-1442446705.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><div><br></div>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-39190494045433038712014-01-20T00:21:00.001-08:002014-01-22T15:18:51.279-08:00Month 2 - Welcome to Hell!<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">So my last post in December was pretty optimistic, little did I know I was just on the verge of entering the gates of Hell! Wow these last 2 to 3 weeks have tested my humaity to the core. Infact I think at one point I was close to dying... let me explain!</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So things took a turn for the worst right after the 1st of January. Before, I was able to make it through the day, and was going to work. And for New Years I went to a party... it was a little uncomfortable but managable. But after, within the first week of January my skin turned red, full body bright red! Red sleeves and everything. This my friends IS NOT ECZEMA... this is a completly different beast. My skin was on fire! This is Topical Steroid Withdraw. This is what it feel like to rid your body of poison you have been applying your whole life. It took a month to hit my body and it arrived like a brick wall. Let the detox begin...</div>
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It was around Jan 9th when I woke up in the morning, looked absolutly terrible and decided to hop in the shower! Bad move! The mixture of pain, my adrinals all messed up, not eating breakfast, and the heat almost caused me to blackout. No one was was home so I just hopped out of the bathroom, cralled to my phone and called 911. I nearly lost conciouness while I waited for them. Luckly they gave me some food and I was fine. My blood pressure had dropped to a dangerous level. Of course I had to try and describe topical steroid to them which was hard but they were a little understandable. </div>
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So basically for the last couple weeks my skin has been hell and sheading relentlesly! I wake up in the morning and look like a zombie with skin falling off everywhere. Oozing like freaking crazy. I wake up completely wet with ooze. And the grity skin falling off on top of the ooze is extreamly nasty. Very hard to sleep. Luckly I went to the doctor and got hydroxisine, which is an anti histamine to help sleep and calm the itching. I take some around 12pm, wake up around 3am or 4am all sweaty and then go soak in the bath till 8am. Yeah! 4 hours in the tub, but its the only place I can get some good rest! I havent been to work for the last week. Just told them I am taking medical leave... Anyways, this is really testing my physical strength, have resorted to prayer, faith and hope. My parents have been coming over to help and my roommate is making me meals! Having a care tender is important as I have learned I cant manage this all my self! Cant thank the people in my life who are helping through. They are a God sent! Tierd, going to bed now. More later. </div>
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Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-6359949067542736482013-12-27T10:11:00.002-08:002014-01-20T12:04:51.599-08:003 Weeks -Things are getting a little betterThings are improving for me at the moment. Hopefully I stay this path. Fingers crossed. It's only been 3 weeks but the cycles my skin have gone through has been interesting to say the least. Basically its been like 1 or 2 days of intense itching, redness and nerve tingling, and sensitive to temperature, then after the flare my skin stops itching but still am pretty red for a 2 or 3 days, then my skin will peal. Then I am good for about 2 days and then the whole cycle will repeat. I have gone through about 4 cycles but each one is less intense in nature. Also my skin has been getting way thicker and harder to break and cause bleeding. This has been great. And slowly but surly my skin is holding moisture better. A couple weeks ago I would wake up sooo dry I didn't want to move. It felt like my skin could crack so easy. Now it's still dry and a little red but Its much more bearable. I have been snowboarding 3 times in the last 2 weeks and I've think this has helped. It seems to get some adrenaline flowing and the adrenal glands back to a normal state. I know more flares will come but I definitely think overall my skin is in much better condition then without the steroids. I am hoping when spring and summer hit and I am able to get some sun, then my skin will be cured :)Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4616985779043342186.post-10118291123174328972013-12-14T18:42:00.000-08:002014-01-21T17:00:50.310-08:00How it begins...Topical Steroid Cordisone WithdrawI have been using topical steroids my whole life. From hydrocortisone to some of the more potent creams. For the past 7 years or so I have been using Triamcinolone Acetonide 0.1% all over my body. That is a moderate to strong steroid.<br>
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Recently, back before Thanksgiving 2013 my eczema was not getting better, even with the creams. It was all over my body and driving me crazy. I try to avoid the doctor, but I went anyways. I haven't had oral prednisone in a couple years but I knew it would make me feel better, so I asked the doctor to give me some. I also asked for a refill on the triamcinolone. As I was at the pharmacy picking up the meds the pharmacist said "whoo, thats a big jar of cream, I hope it takes you a long time to go through that". She said "don't use that cream for more then 2 weeks as it can cause the HPA Axis to dysfunction." It my mind I was like ha, I've used this cream for I don't know how long... And then it dawned on me. Perhaps my body is screwed up because of this cream. So when I got home I google the symptoms of long term steroid use, that's when I started coming across some of the blogs and people who have gone through cortisone withdraw. Everything kind of made sense now, the medicine is not making me better, its making me more sick. This is when I decided to stop using the cream.<br>
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Ironically I did decide to take the prednisone though, because my body was all torn up. I figured, If I am going to quit steroids lets clear my body up first, then start the withdraw. So I started. For 3 days I took 3 15mg Pills of Predisone, and my skin cleared! I lived this opportunity up as I new this was the last time my skin was going to be better for a long time. Then 3 more days of 2 pills. The eczema slowly started to pop up. then 3 days of 1 pill. The eczema returned, AND then no more pills! <i> </i>I stopped 12/5/2013<br>
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I knew all hell would break loose now. And it did.... <br>
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Starting the tortures of withdraw.<br>
I was panicking because of what I knew what was to come. I showed my mom and a friend of the video on Itsan.org (very good video by the way) and told them I am going to try it. They gave me positive reinforcement and told me to try it. And so I began. The first 2 days actually weren't to bad probably because the predisone was still in my system. But the 3rd day I was starting to feel it. My body was swelling up, my skin was turning violent red. I felt cold, especially my hands and feet. My skin hurt, like a sundburn almost but deeper inside. I started shaking... By day 4 my glands were swollen as well as my face. Its weird though, my skin didn't have much eczema on it but it was red and on fire. Day 5 was the worse I felt. I didn't go to work. It was painful to wake up and take a shower. I felt sick, my body was begging for the Triamcinolone cream. I almost considered saying screw it and put it on, but I didn't. Then before going to bed I decided to take Nyquil (the cold medicine) because I knew I wouldn't sleep. But damnn that stuff made me sleep. Didn't wake up at all that night. When I did wake up my skin felt gross, it felt matted, felt dead, it was soo dry and painful. At least I felt rested though and my glands didn't feel swollen. I took a shower and put lotion on. The lotion I have been using is Curel Itch Defense, which is amazing stuff. It doesn't leave your skin greasy or too dry, and takes the redness away as well. This brings me to my current day, day 9. My skin has been shedding and falling off now...Severe shedding I would call it. My mattress looked like it had gone through a snowstorm. The good thing is there seems to be new skin underneath, that isn't as red (Although my skin is still pretty red...). My skin is also oozzing in places which is not comfortable at all... My skin feels very tight and dry. Especially waking up in the mornings. I don't like to turn or stretch too much because it feels very uncomfortable. My face is also still a little swollen and red. Luckly it doesn't look that bad yet. The good thing is I feel like I have more energy, it feels like my body has returned to producing its own cortisone or wherever the medication was blocking. Also my skin feels thicker, more natural. I am not bleeding anywhere. Before it was so easy to scratch and start bleeding because the steroids thin the skin. Overall I feel like crap, but feel like I have gone through the worst part. Although, according to others there will eventually be worse times then this. I hoping in a couple months I will be much better but I know some take up to 3 to 4 years to heal.<br>
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Here is a pic of my current state (Note I have a cast on because I have a broken wrist from snowboarding):<br>
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<br>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11512287098643442969noreply@blogger.com1